Plan would allow downtown Madison buildings to add stories

A new proposal introduced to the Madison Common Council on Tuesday would permit downtown buildings to grow taller while adding affordable housing, according to a report from Channel3000.

The proposal would permit developers to add stories to downtown buildings if at least half of the new space is used for affordable housing. Added stories would need to stay in line with current city height limits.

The city sets limit on both the height and story limit of downtown buildings to protect the view of the Capitol. Those in favor of the proposal said that while height limits work well for commercial buildings, story limits do not.

Residential floors tend to be shorter than commercial ones, so a building with only residential floors could conceivably have more floors than a commercial building, even if both are the same height.

The proposal is limited to the downtown area, and new housing would have to maintain affordability for at least 30 years.